Alabama 789 articles

Federal investigators have taken the rare action of removing Tesla as a party to an ongoing investigation of the fatal March 23 crash of a Tesla Model X in Mountain View, California. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that Tesla Inc. violated investigative protocol by releasing information pertaining to the crash probe before it was vetted and approved by the NTSB officials. “Such releases of incomplete information often lead to speculation and incorrect assumptions about the probable cause of a crash, which does a disservice to the investigative process and the traveling public,” the NTSB said in a statement. ... Read More

Nearly a quarter of all vehicles on U.S. roads are under an open safety recall, according to a new Carfax study, indicating millions of motorists are at risk of injury and death by driving vehicles with an unrepaired auto defect. Carfax, which operates the world’s largest vehicle history database, says that more than 57 million vehicles in the U.S. are under an open safety recall. That means problems such as faulty airbags, gear shifters, ignition switches, steering wheel assemblies, electronics, and a spectrum of other defects have the potential to cause harm, even years after the vehicles were recalled. The ... Read More

The Ohio federal judge overseeing the massive multidistrict litigation involving local governments accusing pharmaceutical companies, drug distributors and pharmacies of fueling the opioid epidemic laid out timelines for an active litigation phase to work through difficult legal issues in order to expedite a settlement in the case. The Judge also directed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to pony up information about the sales of opioids, something the DEA has been reluctant to do. In addition to the two orders, U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster also consolidated three lawsuits in the MDL brought by Ohio local governments and scheduled them ... Read More

Beasley Allen Law Firm has filed its fourth and fifth lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of highly addictive opioid painkillers on behalf of Alabama city or county governments, a bold move taken by numerous local governments across the country to counter the nation’s opioid epidemic. Both lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The complaints were filed on behalf of Limestone County and the City of Anniston, respectively, and allege the governments have sustained economic damages and continue to bear a significant financial burden due to the opioid crisis. Beasley Allen has previously ... Read More

A bus crash near the Alabama-Florida border killed the driver and sent 46 people, mostly Houston-area high school band members, to area hospitals Tuesday morning, several with serious injuries. The bus, operated by First Class Tours Inc., was carrying 40 students and six adults from Channelview High School back to Channelview, Texas, after a Saturday performance at a Disney World music festival. Channelview is just east of Houston. The bus crash killed driver Harry Caligone of Houston, who was employed by First Class Tours for more than 20 years. The Associated Press reported that Mr. Caligone had a clean driving ... Read More

Hyundai will recall about 155,000 midsize Sonata sedans in the U.S. over concerns that airbags in the vehicles may not deploy and seat belts may not function properly in a crash. The Hyundai recall covers 154,753 model-year Sonata cars manufactured between Dec. 11, 2009, and Sept. 29, 2010, at the South Korean automaker’s plant in Montgomery, Alabama. The airbag problem stems from a short circuit in the airbag control unit, an electronic component that assists with airbag deployment. A short circuit in the control unit could leave motorists without front and side airbag protection in a crash, the National Highway ... Read More

A fatal amputation injury at an Alabama plastics manufacturing company has led to nearly $200,000 in proposed fines for violations the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says could have been prevented with the proper safety measures in place. OSHA says it cited ABC Polymer Industries LLC of Helena for multiple safety violations including one willful violation – the agency’s most serious – for failing to prevent workers from suffering amputation and other injuries in its industrial machinery. According to AL.com, Catalina Estillado, aka Eva Saenz, died Aug. 16 at the ABC Polymer Industries plant after she was pulled into ... Read More

Falsely certifying commercial truck driver medical exams is as much a serious offense under federal law as it is a threat to public safety. A central Alabama chiropractor and two of his employees are learning this lesson the hard way, federal authorities say. According to the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Alabama, Louis V. Franklin, Dr. Kenneth G. Edwards, who resides in Columbus, Georgia, and operates a chiropractic clinic in Phenix City, was arrested Feb. 20 along with two of his employees, Joann Bush and Andrea Daigle. A federal grand jury charged the three on multiple fraud counts relating to ... Read More

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is continuing its crackdown on the herbal supplement kratom announcing this week that it, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other state and local officials are investigating a multi-state breakout of Salmonella infections linked to products reportedly containing kratom. Because of this health risk, the FDA is advising consumers to avoid kratom and kratom-containing products. Salmonella infections cause symptoms such as diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Most people recover without treatment, but the diarrhea may be so severe for some people that they need to be hospitalized. In some ... Read More

A worker’s accidental finger amputation at a fiberglass pipe manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama, has led to a dozen citations for safety violations and a fine of nearly $75,000. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that the accidental amputation occurred at RPS Composites Alabama Inc. and faulted the company for its failure to properly guard machines, including the one that the injured worker had been using. The agency noted that the worker was wearing safety gloves when using a pipe-winding machine and that the gloved hand was pulled into the machine, resulting in the finger amputation. After an ... Read More